An 8-year old, female mountain lion that had been seen wandering throughout a Boulder, Colorado neighborhood for the past week was tranquilized and captured by Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife rangers yesterday afternoon.

The mountain lion, which was wearing a non-functioning radio collar, was first thought to be pregnant because of a distended belly. At that time, the rangers on scene indicated that after a medical exam their intention was to replace the collar's battery and release the lion back into the wild.

However, an examination by veterinarians in Fort Collins found that along with signs of liver damage, there was blockage of major blood and lymphatic vessels in the mountain lion's abdomen. This blockage caused about four gallons of fluid to leak into the animal's belly.

A Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife spokesperson announced today that a decision was made to euthanize the animal for medical reasons.